STORY: BOTOX AND FACIAL PAIN

SCRIPT #603 SHOOT: 4/12/05

AIRDATE: Monday, May 2, 2005

DAYBREAK AND MIDDAY

DHC Master #21 Timecode: 3:26 Botox injections temporarily paralyze

muscles. Doctors now are treating

patients with the medication who suffer from face or jaw pain caused by muscle

contractions.

SOVT: 1:39 Dr. Linda Niessen has details in today's

segment of Dental Health Check.

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KELLY WALKING IN (VOICE-OVER)

SUPER: Richardson :02-07 Kelly Saffell suffers from a debilitating

condition that causes spasms in her eyelids,

jaws, and throat.

SUPER: Kelly Saffell :11-16 ("I thought I was tired. My eyelids would

Dystonia Patient just close. And then it became more of a

sustained squeezing and horrible,

horrendous headaches.")

MORE OF KELLY Kelly has dystonia, a mysterious

disorder that causes involuntary muscle contractions.

BOTOX Her treatment? Botox injections every two

months in her eyelids, jaws, and neck.

KELLY ("My eyes are able to stay open better.

There's less squeezing. I get fewer headaches, less clinching in the jaw,

less throat spasms.")

SUPER: Dr. Richard Riggs :40-45 ("We want to limit botox to those

Dentist problems that are outside the joint,

muscles, as opposed to inside the joint.")

TWO-SHOT Dr. Richard Riggs, a dentist who treats patients with oral and facial pain, cautions

patients to ask many questions before

undergoing botox injections.

DR. RIGGS ("Don't make it your only therapy and

don't make it your first therapy.")

BOTOX INJECTIONS Botox injections reduce headache pain

caused by face and neck muscle contractions.

KAREN HARDWICK Karen Harwick suffers from headaches

caused by the side effects of T-M-J or jaw surgery.

SUPER: Karen Hardwick ("I would definitely recommend the

TMJ Patient 1:13-1:18 botox injections in the back of the head

because I suffered for so many years.

The headaches have cut down from four

a month to once every nine or ten months.

That's an incredible improvement.")

ON CAMERA (STAND-UP CLOSE)

SUPER: Dr. Linda Niessen 1:26-1:32 Botox is a new option to treat muscle

Baylor College of Dentistry disorders in the jaw. But it should not be

used to treat pain related nerve

disorders. For Baylor College of

Dentistry, Texas A&M Health Science

Center, I'm Dr. Linda Niessen,

Channel 8 News.

For viewer inquires:

Dr. Richard Riggs

670 West Arapaho, Suite 5

Richardson, TX

972-737-9177